Cyanobacterial chlorophyll as a sensitizer for colloidal TiO2.

Chlorophyll has been extracted from cyanobacteria. The adsorption of chlorophyll on the surface of colloidal TiO(2) through electrostatic interaction was observed. The apparent association constant (K(app)) of chlorophyll-TiO(2) obtained from absorption spectra is 3.78x10(4)M(-1). The K(app) value of chlorophyll-TiO(2) as determined from fluorescence spectra is 1.81x10(4)M(-1), which matches well with that determined from the absorption spectra changes. These data indicate that there is an interaction between chlorophyll and colloidal TiO(2) nanoparticle surface. The dynamics of photoinduced electron transfer from chlorophyll to the conduction band of colloidal TiO(2) nanoparticle has been observed and the mechanism of electron transfer has been confirmed by the calculation of free energy change (DeltaG(et)) by applying Rehm-Weller equation as well as energy level diagram. Lifetime measurements gave the rate constant (k(et)) for electron injection from the excited state chlorophyll into the conduction band of TiO(2) is 4.2x10(8)s(-1).